Hair dryer

ABSTRACT

A HAIR DRYER HAVING A CYLINDRICAL TWO-PART MAIN BODY, A HOLDER FOR A COMB OR A BRUSH CONNECTED TO THE BODY AND RECEIVING A SUPPLY OF HEATED AIR FROM AN ELECTRIC HEATER LOCATED IN THE BODY. PROJECTIONS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE COMB AND BRUSH DISTRIBUTE HEATED AIR THROUGHOUT THE LONGITUDINAL EXTENT.

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ii-F5724- Oct. 19, 1971 CHKAS YASHHKE ETAL 3,613,257

, HAIR DRYER Original Filed April 4, 1966 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 United States Patent O U.S. Ci. 34-91 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hair dryer having a cylindrical two-part main body, a holder for a comb or a brush connected to the body and receiving a supply of heated air from an electric hea-ter located in the body. Projections on opposite sides of the comb or brush distribute heated air throughout their longitudinal extent.

This application is a divisional application of copending application Ser. No. 539,682, tiled Apr. 4, 1966.

The present invention relates to an improved hair dryer, and more particularly to :a versatile hair dryer which is employed for hair combing, brushing curling and setting as well as for hair drying.

A main object of the present invention is to provide a novel hair dryer which comprises in combination a main body, a holder for a comb and/or brushes, a motor, a mounting device for the motor and an electric circuit and in which each of the component parts has a unique construction and arrangement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel main body for the hair dryer which has a good streamline appearance and a simple construction, and which can be easily gripped by one hand of a user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel comb which is adapted to be employed in the novel hair dryer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel brush assembly which is adapted to be employed in the novel hair dryer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel comb and brush assembly which is adapted to be employed in the novel hair dryer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel holder which is employed in the novel hair dryer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel mounting device which is adapted to mount the motor within the mai'n body of the novel hair dryer.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a hair dryer constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the main body of said hair dryer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded plan view of the two-part main body shown as seen at a different angle from the position in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the fore half portion of said main body as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the rear half portion or end cap of said main body as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5, but shows said rear haltI portion at a different angle from the position in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary front elevational View of a switch member;

ice

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of said switch member shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an end elevational view of said fore half portion shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. l0 is an end elevational view of a connector piece;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view in an enlarged scale of a brush assembly for said hair dryer of FIG. l;

FIG. l2 is a side elevational view of Said brush assembly shown in FIG. 1l;

FIG. 13 is an end elevational view of said brush assembly shown in FIG. 1l;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of, a comb and/or brush holder for said hair dryer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a bottom view of said holder shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view on an enlarged `scale of a comb to be held of said holder in FIG. l4;

FIG. 17 is an end elevational view of said comb shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but shows when said hair dryer uses a comb and brush assembly;

FIG. 19 is a top plan view in an enlarged scale of said comb and brush assembly shown in FIG. 18;

FIG. 2O is an end elevational view of said comb and brush assembly shown in FIG. 18;

FIG. 2l is a side elevational view on an enlarged scale of only the comb of said comb and brush assembly shown in FIG. 18;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view of said main body showing a novel motor mounting device mounted in the main body;

FlG. 23 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line 23--23 of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a front end elevational view oli said motor mounting device shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 25 is a diagram of an electric circuit suitably employed in conjunction with the novel hair dryer; and

FIG. 26 is a diagram of a conventional electric circuit which is employed in conjunction with a prior art hair dryer.

Referring now to the drawings and the numerals thereon, a hair dryer according to the present invention is generally indicated by numeral 10. The hair dryer 10 generally comprises a cylindrical main body which is consisted of a fore half portion 10A and a rear half portion or end cap portion 10B. The fore half portion 10A tapers toward its fore end and is provided with a notch 11 which begins at the rear end of the half portion and extends some distance inwardly therefrom. The upper portions of the opposite walls of the notch 11 are offset so as to form shoulders 12 and 12. The fore half portion 10A is also provided with a plurality of tongue and groove type retention means 13 in its periphery for receiving the casing or" an electric motor. A switch member 14 having protruding edges 15 on the opposite sides and fore and rear projections 16 and 17 on the front and rear surfaces is inserted in the notch 11 with the engaging edges 15 abutting against the shoulders 12, the front projection 16 inserted in the fore half portion 10A and the rear projection 17 inserted in the rear half portion 10B. A pair of diametrically opposite grooves 18 are provided in the periphery of the fore half portion 10A and each groove 18 is provided with a through bore 19. A pair of diametrically opposite grooves 20 are provided in the periphery of the rear half portion 10B in alignment with the respective grooves 18 of the fore half portion 10A and each of the grooves 20 is also provided with a through bore 21. The fore half portion 10A is further provided with projections 22 at its rear end and the rear half portion 10B is provided with mating recesses 23 at the adjacent end thereof. U-shaped connector pieces 24 (only one of them is shown in FIG. l0) are inserted in the respective through bores 19 and 21 in the fore and rear half portions 10A and 101B in such a manner that the opposite legs of each connector piece may pass through the bores. The connector pieces 24 are normally covered by name plates 25. The rear half portion B is provided with a lead receiving section 26 in its periphery and a lead guide bore 27 is formed at the rear end of the section for guiding a lead 30. A hanger ring 28 is attached to the lead guide bore 27. The end surface 31 of the rear half portion 10B is formed notches as more clearly shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

With the above construction and arrangement of the main body of the hair dryer, the switch member 14 is fit in the notch 11 of the fore half body portion 10A and the engaging edges 15 of the switch member abut against the shoulders 12. of the notch 11 whilst the front projection 16 engages the interior of the fore half portion 10A and the rear projection 17 engages the interior of the rear half portion 10B, and accordingly, the switch member 14 can be positively held in position in the notch 11 and will not come out of the notch by accident. The fore and rear half portions 10A and 10B can be satisfactorily put together by inserting the legs of the connector pieces 24 into the respective through bores 19 and 21 of the grooves 18 and 20 respectively. After the insertion of the connector pieces 24 into the grooves 18 and 20, name plates 25 are applied over the connector pieces, and therefore, the surface portions of the two half portions where the connector pieces 24 are applied will be smooth and give a good appearance. Since the base end of the rear half portion 10B is provided with the notched surface 31, even if the end is in contact with the at surface of an object, air may ow into the interior of the hair dryer so as to prevent the inner mechanisms of the dryer from being overheated. In addition, since the main body of the dryer is comparatively of small diameter, the user can manipulate the dryer with case.

Now referring to FIGS. l1 through 16 wherein the construction and arrangement of a comb and brush holder and a comb and brushes to be held thereby are more clearly shown. As shown, a holder which holds a comb and a brush assembly alternately is generally shown by numeral and comprises a substantially halfround section member with the tapered fore end and enlarged rear end or base. The holder 4t) is provided with a center groove 41 which extends a substantial length of the holder and terminates short of the fore end 42 and rear end 43. The rear end or base 43 is adapted to be inserted in the adjacent end of the fore half portion v10A of the hair dryer 10 and held in place by means of a latching piece 44 to which a pusher piece 45 is attached. The holder 40 is formed with a pair of elongated slots 46, 46 in the top and with a pair of elongated slots 47, 47 on the opposite side walls. The slots in each pair are axially aligned to each other, but separated from each other. A pair of oppositely disposed clipping pieces 48 and 49 are held in position adjacent to the opposite ends of the groove 41. A comb 50 is shown as having shorter and thicker projections 51, 51 and longer and thinner projections 52, 52 on the opposite sides of the base portion 53 of the comb 50. A brush assembly is shown as comprising a frame member 54 having an upper inserting portion 55, and a pair of brushes 56, 56 disposed in parallel to and separated from each other with the inserting portion interposed therebetween. The inserting portion 55 is also provided with shorter and thicker projections 57, 57 and longer an thinner projections 58, 58 on the opposite sides thereof. The comb 50 and brush assembly may be alternately held in place within the holder 40 as the occasion necessitates.

The holder 40 normally holds either the comb 50 or the pair of brushes 56 therein depending upon the option of the user, but when the holder has neither the comb nor the brush therein, the holder can be used for hair curling. For the purpose of hair curling heated air is discharged through the center groove 4l and the slots 46, 47 on the top and side walls thereof so as to heat the hair.

All of the above holder 40, comb 50 and brush frame member 54 are formed of plastic, and accordingly, even if they are heated by heated air, they will not give pain by heat to the skin of the users head as experienced in case these components are formed of metal. Frequently, the head of a male has many short hair portions which are difficult to be combed by a conventional comb, but by the use of the novel brushes which diffuses heat, a satisfactory hair dressing operation can be performed. And since the holder' can alternately hold the comb and brushes as desired, hair dressing operation can be conveniently performed. When the holder is removed from the main body of the hair dryer, the dryer can then serve as a dryer.

When the user wishes to comb his hair, the base portion y53 of the comb 50 is first inserted into the center groove 41 of the holder 40 and the elastic clipping pieces 48 and 49 hold the comb `5() in position Within the holder 40. Thereafter, the switch 14 is actuated and heated air from the heater is propelled toward the holder 40 and the heated air is then diffused along both the sides of the base of 50. In this case, the heated air from the base end 43 of the holder 40 proceeds in a straight direction until such air strikes against the fore end 42 of the holder and then diffuses itself along both the sides of the comb 50. Accordingly, the tips of the comb teeth are more heated than the portion from the base to the midpoint in the vertical direction of the comb 50 thereby to cause the comb to be unevenly heated, that is, temperature distribution on the comb is not uniform. This diiculty can be overcome by the above-mentioned projections 51, :52 on the opposite sides of the comb 50 which partially block the passage of the heated air so as to divert the flow of 'heated air toward the center portion of the comb whereby the entire comb 50 may be uniformly heated.

When the user wishes to replace the comb` `50 with the brushes, he is only required to remove the comb from the holder 40 and in place of the comb, to position the brush assembly in the groove 41 of the holder 40. Also in this case, the projections 57 and 58 on the opposite sides of the inserting portion 55 of the brush frame serve to restrict the diffusion of heated air and effect temperature distribution throughout the brushes.

NeXt, referring to FIGS. 18 through 21 in which a modied embodiment is illustrated. As shown in these figures, in this embodiment a combination of comb and brushes are employed in place of either the comb or brush assembly as in the preceding embodiment. The comb and brush assembly comprises a comb 50' having engaging projections 60, 60 at the opposite ends, and a pair of parallel and spaced brushes 56', 56 mounted on the respective mandrels 61, 61 having their opposite ends held in position by means of a pair of oppositely and spacially disposed angular fastening means 62, `63 which are in turn engaged with the respective end engaging projections 60 of the comb 50. The above comb and brush assembly is disposed in the lholder 40 with the base portion of the comb 50 t in the groove 41 of the holder. The holder 40 having the comb and brush assembly inserted therein is inserted at its rear end into the adjacent end portion of the associated hair dryer main body.

The above-mentioned comb and brush assembly is advantageously employed when the user wishes to comb and brush his hair simultaneously. As mentioned above, the pair of brushes 56 are connected to the both sides of the base portion of the comb -50 by the engagement of the opposite angular fastening means 62., `63 with the respective engaging projections 60 of the combs 50 so that the comb teeth may protrude downwardly of the brushes 56' when the comb and brush assembly is held in position Within the holder 40.

Therefore, when the user lists the comb and brush assembly at an angle, the comb teeth comb his hair and at the same time the brushes hold the hair down lightly whereby a satisfactory hair dressing operation can be performed. In this case, the heated air from the heater heat-sets the hair effectively. For puiing hair, usually the' comb teeth are somewhat put back after they have combed hair, but if only the comb is used for the purpose, portions of the hair may go through the clearance between the comb teeth and the putling result may be unsatisfactory. On the other hand, when only brushes are employed for puing the hair, they may disturb the hair alignment condition. However, by the use of this novel comb and brush assembly, the brushes can pui the hair while the comb teeth are combing the hair. Furthermore, since the combing and brushing are simultaneously performed while heated air is being directed to them, the hair dressing gives a ne appearance to the hair. As compared with the hair dressing by the conventional hair dryer in which the comb and brushes have to be alternately employed, the hair dressing operation by the novel hair dryer is more eflicient. According to the present invention, the comb and brush assembly can be tilted at any desired angle depending upon whether the user wishes to chiey employ either the comb or brushes.

In FIGS. 22 through 24 there is shown a novel device for mounting an electric motor in the main body of the hair dryer 10. As shown in these iigures, the mounting device generally comprises a cylindrical rubber body or casing 70 which houses an electric motor (not shown) therein and the casing has a plurality of radially and outwardly extending rubber support legs 71 which are formed integrally around the casing 70 with an equal angular space from each other. The cylindrical casing 70 is further provided with a rubber bottom 72 having a center bore 73 through which a shaft 71 extends outwardly for mounting a fan 75 thereon. The above casing 70, support legs 7.1 and bottom 72 are moulded as a unitary unit with rubber material. A rubber made cover plate 76 having a cylindrical center boss 77 is lit in the fore end of the cylindrical casing 70 whereby the motor can be completely covered from the environment. The cylindrical boss 77 is provided at its free end face with a pair of notches 78 which pass across one another at right angles and a heater support frame 79 is litted in the notches 7-8. The legs 71 of the motor casing 70 are inserted into the respectively corresponding grooves 80 which are formed in the inner periphery of the fore half portion of the main body in a spaced relation corresponding to that of the legs '71 and the legs are slid within the respective grooves 80 forwardly until the fore ends of the legs come to abut against respective projections 81 which are also `formed in the inner periphery of the fore half body portion 10A in the same spaced relation as that of the legs, and thereafter the rear half body portion 10B is lit on the fore half body portion 10A until respective projections 82 which are formed in the inner periphery of the rear half portion 10B at the same equal spaced relation come to abut against the rear ends of the respective legs 71 whereby the motor casing 70 having the motor therein can be positively held in position within the main body 10.

As mentioned above, since the electric motor can be completely concealed within the casing 70 by means of the rubber cover plate 76, the noise caused by the rotation of the motor can be eiectively prevented from being heard outside the casing 70. Since the support legs 71 are integrally moulded with the casing 70, and the legs are tightly t in the corresponding grooves y80 and held in position by the projections 81 and S2 in the inner periphery of the two body portions 10A and 10B, the vibration of the rotating motor can be absorbed by the rubber material of the legs 71 and will not be transmitted to the body of the dryer. Since the heater frame 79 is designed to be lit in the intersecting notches 78 formed in the boss 77 of the cover plate 76, the mounting of the heater can be easily performed. Furthermore, the motor is completely isolated from the leads connected to the switch and wirings leading to the motor and heater,

6 the internal insulation of the hair dryer is satisfactory.

FIG. 25 shows an electric circuit which is suitably employed in conjunction with the novel hair dryer. The hair dryer derives its driving power from the source from a household lighting line. The source 90 is connected through a switch 91 to the heating wire 92 which leads to the heater (not shown). Two parallel leads 93 and 94 branch off from the heating wire at two separate points of the heating wire 92 and these leads 93 and 94 are connected through respective silicone or any other suitable rectiiers to a neutral line 96 which is in turn connected through the motor M to another neutral line 97 which iS connected to the heating wire 92 at the middle point between the branch leads 93 and 94.

With the above arrangement, when AC current is supplied from the source 90, current flows through the heating wire 92 at all times, but the motor M is alternately supplied with current from the circuit including the branch lead 93, rectifier 95 and neutral lines 96 and 97 on one hand, and from the circuit including the branch lead 94, rectifier 96 and neutral lines 96 and 97 on the other hand. Therefore, full-wave rectified current flows through the motor M so as to cause the motor M to rotate without loss of electricity. Since the leads 93 and 94 are alternately cut olf the supply of electricity, the heating wire sections 98 and 99 on the opposite sides of the contact point 100 of the neutral line 97 with the heating wire 92 are connected in series with each other when one of the branch leads 93 and 94 is not supplied with current whilst the wire sections 98 and 99 are connected in parallel to each other when the other branch lead is not supplied with current. The series connection and parallel connection are alternately changed by AC, and acordingly, the parallel connection distance between the heating wire 92 and the motor circuit is reduced to one-half of the distance between the branch leads 93 and 94 and the heating wire sections 98 and 99 between the branch leads 93 and 94 are heated by repeating the parallel and series connections alternately.

The novel circuit referred to above is advantageous over the conventional circuit in FIG. 26 because of its simpler construction and lower production cost. In the conventional circuit of FIG. 26 four rectiers 101, 102, 103 and 104 are connected so as to form a bridge circuit and the motor M is connected through leads 106 and 107 to the bridge circuit so as to be supplied with DC through the rectiers from the source 90. In this circuit since the heating wire section between the branch leads 93 and 94 is at all times connected to the motor circuit in parallel thereto, the heat eiciency in the heating wire section is low. In addition, since four rectiers are employed production cost of a air dryer employing such four rectiers increases and the volume of the dryer body will be inevitably larger.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail it will be understood that the same is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hair dryer comprising a substantially cylindrical two-part main body, a substantially half-round section holder connected at the rear end to the adjacent end of said main body and having an axial groove which terminates short of the opposite ends of said holder and is dened by the opposite side walls of the holder, said holder being provided with each one pair of axially aligned slots in the top and opposite side walls thereof respectively and a pair of opposite retention pieces fixedly mounted in said axial groove near the opposite ends of the holder, supporting means mounted on the rear end of said holder for supporting connection of said main body and holder, replaceable hair dressing means releasably held in position within said holder groove and having engaging portions which are adapted to be inserted'int'o the holder groove and to be secured in the groove ,by means of said retention pieces, an electric motor mounted within said main body, an electric heater mounted within said main body and electrically connected to said motor, an electric circuit for energizing said motor and heater, said replaceable hair dressing means including a base, said base having projections extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of said hair dressing means from opposite sides of said base and said projections including axially spaced short and thick projections and longer and thinner projections adapted to cooperate with the interior of the sidewalls oifthe holder to facilitate distribution of heated air.

2. A hairdryer as set forth in claim 1, in which said replaceable hair dressing means is a comb.

3. A hairdryer as set forth in claim 1, in which said replaceable hair dressing means is a brush assembly, and a pair of parallel and spaced brushes mounted on marl-v drels within said base. v

4. A hair dryer as set forth in claim 1, in kwhich said replaceable hair dressing means is acomb and brush as` sembly comprising a` comb having engaging projections at the oppositeends of the base portion thereof, a pair of brushes disposed parallel to and spaced Afrom each other and mounted on the respective mandrels with said comb disposedtherebetween, and fastening pieces for holding said brushes in said parallel and spaced relation and engaging said opposite end projections of said comb, said base portion of the comb projecting upwardly out of the pair of brushes and being adapted to be t in said holder groove.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner l-I. B. RAMEY, Assistant Examiner .U.S. Cl. X.R. 

